How To Identify Forced Labour

Identifying forced labour means recognising signs that someone is working under the menace of a penalty and has not offered themselves voluntarily. The International Labour Organization publishes indicators built for that job, covering things such as deception at recruitment, retention of identity documents, restriction of movement, isolation, and intimidation or threats.

The part most guidance skips is how to read them. In its 2025 revised edition the ILO describes the indicators as signs pointing to the possible existence of forced labour rather than proof of it, and says plainly that they are not exhaustive and will keep evolving. An indicator is a reason to ask a further question, not a conclusion. One sign on its own may have an innocent explanation. Several appearing together in the same crew or at the same site is the pattern worth acting on.

The second thing worth knowing is who is placed to see them, and it is rarely the compliance team. It is the site supervisor who notices the same minibus drop off and collect a crew, the payroll officer looking at deductions that do not add up, and the procurement officer holding a contract price that could not cover lawful wages. That argues for:

• structured questions asked the same way every time rather than ad hoc
• a clear record of who is engaged through which contractor
• a route for raising a concern that does not depend on the person being certain

Forced labour is a criminal offence in Australia, so a genuine suspicion is a matter for the authorities rather than something to settle internally. This is general information and not legal advice. The ILO indicators of forced labour booklet sets out the full set and how practitioners apply them.

Sentrient’s modern slavery course and wider compliance training courses cover what staff should do when something does not look right.